A Look at Qatar’s Athletic History

A model of Al-Wakrah Stadium, one of the proposed venues in Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid.

Qatar is a tiny Persian Gulf peninsula with approximately 800,000 people, a majority of whom are foreign workers. The country boasts massive natural-gas deposits and the second-highest per capita income in the world. It prides itself for punching above its weight in regional politics and economic issues. When it comes to sports, however, Qatar’s national team has barely left a mark in regional or international play.

Qatar’s rulers have spent years trying to change that. Since 2004, Qatar has run the Aspire Sports Academy, which identifies and trains young soccer players from Qatar and the developing world, particularly Africa. Qatar’s national sports teams are peppered with international-class athletes from developing nations that the country has sponsored and given citizenship to.

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